


Sub Drop - An Exercise in Loving Care

by Sun_Spark



Series: Jarchie: Loving-Dom/Sub-Experiences [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Aftercare, Dom Jughead Jones, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Geraldine Grundy | Jennifer Gibson Bashing, Grundy is a bitch, Healing, Healthy Relationships, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Jughead is a bit pissed, Light Dom/sub, Loving Jughead, M/M, No Smut, Non-Sexual, Non-Sexual Submission, Pedophilia, Protective Jughead Jones, Sub Archie Andrews, Sub Drop, They did the do before my writing starts, but Jughead talks about some more hardcore stuff, cursing, gentle jughead, geraldine grundy - Freeform, negotiating of needs and kinks, nothing graphic, ok?, past trauma, seriously fuck Grundy, so duh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 17:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19445866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sun_Spark/pseuds/Sun_Spark
Summary: The first time Archie goes through sub drop, it nearly breaks Jughead's heart. He might just kill Geraldine Grundy yet for what she's done.OrSub!Archie and Dom!Jughead - Light dom/sub. Jughead is a good dominant, Grundy screwed up Archie, Archie has residual trauma to work through but Jughead's going to help him.





	Sub Drop - An Exercise in Loving Care

**Author's Note:**

> There is a similar fic/companion piece to this that I wrote called "Sub Spark - A Matter of Control", it's here if you want to read it <3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/19799677

The first time Archie Andrews experienced sub-drop, it damn near broke Jughead’s heart. Not because he didn’t know what to do about it or because it caught him by surprise, no he was obsessive enough and protective enough of Archie to make darn sure he had researched **_everything_** he could before they started this. No, it was Archie’s reaction to the sub-drop, or rather how Jughead handled it as the dominant half of their pair, that’s what tore his heart out and made him want to go kill someone.

When they had started this, weeks ago, it had been the result of Archie slowly, embarrassingly, explaining to his best friend why he had been on edge all the time and quick to fly off the handle. What it boiled down to was the fact that Archie was, despite how he normally acted, submissive, and that he needed someone else to take control at times. While the redhead was spirited and independent, - and had no interest in giving up either of those things - he would get overwhelmed by too much going on and he wouldn’t be able to force himself out of it, needing someone else to focus him and make everything else quiet down. 

_“It’s like…drowning, Jug. Like everything, even simple everyday things, get too loud and too…just too much, and it’s like being in a panic attack, a nightmare making you want to tear your own skin off just to have some relief from **whatever** is under it, hurting….But you can’t. And nothing you do on your own helps, because that means thinking, that means focusing, that means trying to control everything when the lack of control was the entire problem. And normally…normally I’m fine…but sometimes you just…forget how to swim, and no matter how fricking hard you try, you can’t remember unless someone tells you how.”_

That’s how Archie had described it to him nearly three weeks ago, embarrassed, overwhelmed, and nearly crying, and while Jughead may not have expected this to be the solution, he couldn’t say he was surprised by the problem. Truth be told the solution wasn’t horrible either. They’d done some research, Jughead more than Archie because Archie was still barely holding together, and they’d talked, at length, and planned everything. Half-way through his research Jughead had nearly been sick, not sure he was capable of doing some of these – **_things_** – but he needn’t have worried. Looking back it was almost comical that Archie reacted with nearly as much horror to those things as he had.

Archie didn’t need humiliation, he didn’t need an elaborate scene or fantasy, he didn’t need to explore any..ahem..odder kinks, and he didn’t need anything that, honestly, to Jughead’s inexperienced self, seemed borderline abusive. That had been a relief because there was no way in hell that Jughead Jones could have ever done that to his best friend, not even if the ‘abuse’ was pretend. All Archie needed was for someone to take control, give him a safe place and put him in a submissive state. He needed someone to tell him what to do, to take away the need to make decisions or to think about anything, and just tell him what to do and take care of him. He didn’t mind being bound, in fact, there were times that he needed to be, when he couldn’t force himself to obey. He didn’t mind mild pain, but anything more than light scratching, gentle pulling on his hair, or grips that would leave light bruising was too much, for both of them. The only thing Archie couldn’t tell him straight up was the talking, but they figured that out as they went. Archie, at least in a submissive state, _**loved**_ pet names, and he really, really didn’t mind what amounted to dirty talk and a praise kink. Degrading and humiliating stuff? No thank you.

All told, Archie’s needs were a little strange to the ‘normal’ world, but they weren’t extreme or even really that weird. And Jughead found that he might just be a tad possessive and may really, really like taking care of his boy. Of course, all of this previous research and discussion and Archie blushing like mad, which was honestly kind of adorable, led to the inevitable question bouncing around Jughead’s mind: _‘How did you learn any of this? When?’_

Archie had frozen in place when he’d asked that, but Jughead wasn’t going to push, and knowing the state Archie was in underneath the calm façade, he certainly wasn’t going to demand an answer. Slowly, even more painstakingly slowly than the discussion of needs and limits, Archie revealed to him the whole story of Geraldine Grundy. 

Over the previous summer, Archie Andrews had started working at his father’s construction company because a restless and uncomfortable feeling had settled under his skin, and he’d hoped breaking rocks all day might sweat or beat it out of his system. Three weeks into summer, Archie Andrews had been a tired high schooler slowly making his way home when a little blue car and the familiar face of a friendly teacher pulled up next to him. Geraldine Grundy had noticed far more than was meant for her eyes and had picked up on Archie’s restlessness. A car ride home turned into a carefully woven interrogation hidden behind the window trappings of innocent conversation. One car ride home turned into the friendly teacher who cared about her students lending an ear and teaching music to a young boy coming apart at the seams. Music lessons became littered with carefully worded commands and the barest of suggestions, all of which Archie clung to without even realizing. ‘Music lessons’ became less about music and more about a sick game meant to satisfy a perverted old woman at the expense of a young boy who blindly allowed this because it gave him what he needed.

Jughead Jones had wanted to commit murder that day, or at least severe bodily harm, but he had refrained for the sake of his friend. Archie was still a bit blind where their music teacher was concerned, knowing full well that she hadn’t been healthy for him but still caught in the lie that she had cared about him. So Jughead had taken a deep breath and let it go, focused on the right then and on the friend who needed him. And if perhaps he fantasized about doing some of those violent things he could never stomach to do to Archie to Geraldine Grundy, sans safe-word, well he’d bury that in the back of his mind where neither of them would find it ever again.

But now those thoughts made more than a little bit of a reappearance as he took in the now distraught redhead in front of him. Shaking those brief thoughts off, he knelt in front of Archie where the boy had been sitting on his knees on the floor. Previously sitting straight and holding his wrists behind his back at Jughead’s order, now he was curled as tightly into himself as he could be without leaving the spot he’d been told to stay in. 

Jughead forced his breathing to maintain a deep and steady rhythm, without leaning forward he ducked his head forward, trying to catch the redhead’s eye. Archie’s eyes were screwed shut. Softly and gently he whispered “Archie?”

The answering sob that tore through Archie’s throat and sent his shoulders spasming was the last answer he wanted. Calmly he reached out a hand, talking to him the whole time, a steady, even tone meant to calm. “Hey, easy baby. It’s gonna be ok, yeah? I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. You’re ok Archie.” Carefully he laid his hand on Archie’s shoulder and the boy made a jerky move towards him, aborting it half-way through with another sob. 

“C-can I-?” Slowly the broken, strained words, came out like shattered glass and Jughead had to lean forward to hear him. “Can you what Archie?” Another sob but he forced himself not to react, needing Archie to do whatever this was on his own terms. “C-Can I m…move?” 

Jughead’s gut twisted, and he was sure his face mirrored the sick feeling in his stomach. “Oh baby,” He murmured, trailing a hand gently through Archie’s red locks. “Of course you can.” 

Immediately the half-halted movement turned into a desperate lunge and Jughead barely had time to brace himself before he had his arms full of his best friend. Archie clung to him, hands clutched in his shirt as sobs tore from his throat. Jughead reached up to the bed and grabbed the fleece blanket folded at the end. Slowly and gently, he wrapped it around Archie’s shoulders. Just as carefully he wrapped his arms around the redhead and started running his fingers through his hair. 

“Easy Archie,” He pressed a kiss to Archie’s hair, softly whispering his words there. “You’re gonna be ok, yeah? You’re home, in your room, it’s just you and me right now. Ok? You’re safe.” He pressed another kiss to the boy’s temple, continually carding his fingers through his hair. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you, it’s gonna be alright Arch.” The hand tangled in Archie’s hair slid lower and he soothed it over Archie's back, then returned it to his hair and repeated the process. “You’ve been so good for me Archie. Did everything I asked and so well. You were perfect baby boy, I’m so proud of you.” Another kiss. “That’s it, you’re safe baby, just let it out, ok? I’ve got you and I’m not going anywhere.”

And so it continued, reassurances and gentle touches peppered with chaste kisses, until Archie’s sobs began to quiet and his breathing steadied a bit. Still, Jughead held him, he wasn’t going to force his boy away any time soon, and certainly not before Archie was ready. Eventually, he stopped talking and took to rocking softly, humming a quiet, slow tune while the other boy settled. His thoughts wandered a bit during the interim, but they never strayed far from Archie, remaining hyper-aware of everything about the boy at all times. His attention was brought fully back to the boy in questions when a few words were spoken quietly into his shoulder.

“ _Sorry. Shouldn’t have’ta deal with this…_ ” He shook his head, even though Archie wasn’t looking at him right then. “Nothin’ to apologize for Arch.”

Archie shifted against him, not pulling away, but peering up at him shyly. “What…” He cleared his throat and Jughead waiting patiently. “What was that?” Archie’s voice was painfully small but Jughead ignored that right now, focusing instead on answering him with a calm and quiet tone. 

“It’s called ‘sub-drop’, Archie. Generally, it refers to an experience when a submissive’s adrenaline and endorphins crash afterward, less commonly it refers to situations like this.” He looked down at Archie carefully, trying to gauge the redhead’s emotions while carefully choosing his words. “When someone in a submissive role gets overwhelmed and experiences a panic attack like shock. They just…Well it varies, but generally speaking, they experience a sudden bout of anxiety, usually not because they feel unsafe but rather ‘cause they feel self-conscious or they get worried about something. Your emotions run too high and you have, well, I guess you could just call it an ‘emotional panic attack’?” He huffed softly. “I’m not sure what the actual term would be.” 

Carefully, he ran his fingers through Archie’s hair, watching his reaction. Archie’s eyes became a little unfocused and he seemed to be staring at nothing. Quietly the redhead murmured, “Oh, that’s what that is? Thought…” He blushed and looked away. Jughead raised an eyebrow at him, “Thought what?” Archie peered up at him bashfully. “Thought it was, well, just me…freaking out.”

Jughead shook his head, holding Archie a little tighter. “No, it’s normal, not necessarily common, but normal.” Archie nodded absently, the motion rubbing his cheek against Jughead’s shoulder. “Why’d you do this?” The clarity of the question startled Jughead and a sour pit began to form in his stomach as he looked down at Archie. “Do what, exactly?”

Archie shrugged one shoulder and looked to the side. “Sit through it with me?” Jughead hoped he was wrong, because if he wasn’t…”Archie?” His voice was tight but he couldn’t help that right now. “Have you…ever had a sub drop before?”

Archie nodded, “Yeah, didn’t know what it was, but yeah.” 

Jughead grit his teeth. “And my taking care of you is surprising _why_?”

Archie’s eyes dropped and he refused to look anywhere near Jughead right now, pressing further into his shoulder as he quietly muttered, “Geraldine didn’t…”

Jughead saw red. No, screw that, he saw about three different shades of black, every shade of blood, and a few glimpses of the hellfire he hoped that bitch suffered. He breathed out harshly through his nose, refusing to let Archie bear any of his anger, it wasn’t for him anyhow. In a tight voice he bit out, “Archie?”

The boy in question peered up at him nervously.

“Geraldine Grundy is a bitch who deserves whatever karma gives her.” Archie’s brows furrow and he opened his mouth to deny it, but Jughead’s firmly growled _“ **No.** ”_ silenced him, leaving him staring up at the raven-haired boy. 

“You listen to me, and you hear what I’m telling you, understand?” Archie nodded, staring up at him in suprise. Jughead forced the words around his grinding teeth. “There is no half decent dominant on the **_fucking planet_** who would leave their partner like this. _**Anyone**_ who takes someone who trusts them completely, hurts them, and **_leaves_** them **_alone_** , who doesn’t take care of them, is fucking **_abusive_**.” Archie’s stare was matched with wide eyes now. “I don’t care who they are, what the hell the situation is, no one, no **_decent fucking person_** leaves a submissive, leaves their partner, alone to deal with shit like this.”

Jughead leaned forward and pressed a gentle but firm kiss to Archie’s forehead, closed his eyes and rested there for a moment, forcing his anger down and gentling his voice. “When someone, like you, puts themselves in a submissive state, for whatever reason, they are trusting their partner completely. They are trusting them to know their needs, to know their limits, to respect their boundaries and their rules, and they are trusting them to **_take care of them._** ” He pulled back enough to rest his forehead against Archie’s, eyes closed and voice strained. “Baby, taking care of you means taking care of you completely. It means knowing your limits and not pushing you too far, it means checking you every five damn seconds if need be, it's asking you what color you’re at, listening when you talk to me, it means making sure nothing, absolutely nothing I do could actually harm you or cause you lasting pain.” He pulled back enough to cup Archie’s jaw and look him in the eye. “And it means taking care of you afterward. Soothing you, checking to make sure you’re not hurt, talking you back to a normal headspace if need be, cleaning you up, putting you to bed.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Archie’s lips. “Holding you and taking care of you when you get upset or react badly.” He shook his head sadly. “Archie…If I can’t do that, then I shouldn’t ever, **_ever_** be your dominant.”

Archie stared at him with wide eyes. For a few heartbeats it was silent, then Archie started crying, softer this time, not the sobs that had been wracking his body earlier. Jughead, though panicking slightly as a second sub drop wasn’t something he’d read about, held him and tried to soothe him. “Shh, it’s alright Arch. ‘m sorry if I hurt you, it’s gonna be alright. ‘s just a sub drop, you’ll be ok.”

Archie shook his head, one of his hands curling into the collar of Jughead’s shirt. “ ‘s not that.” Jughead frowned softly. “What is it then?” Archie actually laughed a little, a tiny little sound mixing with his tears. “I- Just didn’t understand all that…” His brown eyes shyly flicked up to find Jughead’s blue-green ones. “Didn’t know why I was scared ‘n hurting…” He shrugged softly, burying his nose at Jughead’s throat. “Didn’t know I needed you to explain all that to me.”

He laughed quietly, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. “I’d really like to stop crying now.” 

Jughead grinned at him. “I know you would baby, but you’ve been through way too fricking much today. You’ll be ok though.” He pressed a chaste kiss to Archie’s forehead, then his nose, then finally his lips before pulling back and smiling down at his partner. “Think you can get up?”

Archie nodded tiredly and shifted to get his feet under him, Jughead was a bit quicker and so was able to steady him when he stumbled. He had to grin wryly at that, pulling Archie close to him and pressing another kiss to the corner of his jaw. “Come on baby, bed for you.”

Archie allowed himself to be pushed toward and down onto the bed, peering up at Jughead from behind drooping eyelids. “Stay w’th me?”

Jughead just grinned and kissed him again. “Of course.”

Without preamble he climbed onto the bed, settling on the side next to the wall, and pulled Archie down with him, holding the other boy close. Archie, for his part, wrapped an arm around Jughead and burrowed into his friend’s chest. Jughead just chuckled and rearranged the blanket around Archie’s shoulders to cover them both. Settling back to watch the last of the sunset’s light play over the walls of the room. He could feel himself drifting off and knew Archie was almost asleep already, exhausted from all the emotional upheaval. Before he fell into slumber though, he looked down at the head of red hair resting on his chest and ran his fingers through it, whispering, “Love you Arch.”

The sleepy reply he got wasn’t really words, but he understood it well enough, so he laid his head back with a smile and closed his eyes, welcoming the darkness there.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are amazing but I really love talking with my readers, so comment, please!! <3


End file.
